R.I.P.

R.I.P.

Dead End

Riding Easy

When R.I.P. came crawling out of the sewers of Portland, OR four years ago, their grimy, sleazy street doom was already a fully formed monstrosity that quickly infected the minds of everyone it encountered. At the time, no one expected its depravity to take such fierce hold, and yet, here it is, sheltering in place and / or stealthily creeping through a nightmare dystopia that the ’80s sci-fi / horror movies foretold. Dead End is, ironically, a recharge of the band’s sound, bearing influences ranging from John Carpenter films, post-apocalyptic grunge, pro-wrestling attitude and salty lo-fi hip-hop aesthetics, to the band’s ferocious heavy metal. During the three years since the 2017 release of their sophomore album Street Reaper, R.I.P. has been busy tightening their sound and their line up while loosening their grip on sanity—touring the west coast with bands like Electric Wizard and Red Fang, and taking street doom overseas for the first time for a month-long headlining tour of Europe. These years on the road and the addition of a more aggressive rhythm section have allowed the band to fully break free from their influences and deliver on the promise hinted at on their first two releases. For Dead End, R.I.P. worked with legendary producer Billy Anderson, interring onto wax their heaviest and most ambitious album yet. Continuing to move further away from their classic doom influences like Pentagram and Saint Vitus, the band offers a rare blast of originality in a scene rife with formulaic bands. Dead...

R.I.P.

Street Reaper

Riding Easy

When R.I.P. came crawling out of the sewers of Portland, Oregon, last year, their grimy, sleazy street doom was already a fully formed monstrosity, quickly infecting the minds of everyone it encountered. Now, borne from the band’s declining mental health and an increased focus on songwriting, Street Reaper is even more unhinged and menacing than their debut In The Wind. Borrowing equally from ’80s Rick Rubin productions and Murder Dog magazine aesthetics, this latest album is a streamlined yet brutally raw manifesto of heavy metal ferocity hearkening to the era when both metal and hip hop were reviled as the work of street thugs intent on destroying America’s youth. Throughout, Angel Martinez’s guitar and John Mullett’s bass are inextricably interlocked like a massive sonic steamroller, while drummer Willie D keeps the beat solid and simple for the most powerful impact. Plus, the band’s extensive touring and excessive virgin sacrifices have provided singer Fuzz evermore agile vocal chords to drive it all home with extreme precision. Operating on the belief that doom is not tied to a tuning or a time signature, but rather a raw and terrified feeling, R.I.P. eschews well-trodden fantasy and mysticism tropes of the genre and focuses on conveying the horror and chaos inherent in the everyday reality of the human mind.

R.I.P.

In The Wind

Riding Easy

Operating on the belief that heavy metal didn't come from the forest or beam down from outer space, but rather that it crawled up out of the sewer and writhed to life in the grit and grime of the streets, the four rock n roll freaks of R.I.P. call their sound "Street Doom" and spread the message with heavy touring across the United States. Obsessed with death and disgusted with the scene, they dragged their knuckles into the studio in 2016 and excavated a debut LP dedicated to fear and trembling, calling it In The Wind. The Portland, OR quartet - guitarist Angel Martinez, vocalist Fuzz, bassist John Mullett and drummer Willie D. - echoes the grimy vibe of legends like Saint Vitus, Pentagram and Motorhead, with the no b.s. aesthetic of the early Metal Massacre compilations. Metal Injection raves, "It's anything but your standard doom record. R.I.P.'s sonic signature sounds like an old school rock 'n' roll band that takes its cues from the likes of Dead Kennedys and Ghoul."